A rumor website heavily promoted what turned out to be a hoax video from a woman who claimed to have exposed over 500 men in the Detroit area with HIV

A Detroit woman who posted an online video claiming that she has AIDS and had intentionally exposed hundreds in Detroit, told police Saturday morning that the video was a hoax and that it was meant as a “public service”, Detroit Free Press reports.

The video, in which the woman’s face is obscured by a bandana with prints of $100 bills, was first posted Thursday at a rumor website, MediaTakeOut.com. It soon went viral, according to Detroit media, quickly making its way to YouTube.

“I’ve set out to destroy the world because they haven’t come up with a cure for this sh***,” says the woman in the video. She says that she also has syphilis and says, “Three minutes of pleasure turns into a lifetime of death.”

[see video clip at the end of this post]

The video had generated dozens of video responses on YouTube and had been viewed there over 660,000 by Saturday afternoon.

It also generated several calls to Detroit police who tracked down Jackie Braxton, 23, by Saturday morning. Braxton admitted that she had made the video, but told police that she is not HIV-positive, and that she made the video as a “public service” hoax .

“We are 100-percent positive it was a hoax,” Detroit Deputy Chief James Tolbert said, according to Detroit News.

After police picked her up for questioning, Braxton agreed to take an HIV test at a Detroit clinic. Although results of such a test are technically confidential, a police spokesman confirmed today that test results showed Braxton is negative for HIV.

Detroit woman says video claiming she has AIDS meant as ‘public service’ [contd.]

In an interview with Detroit News, Braxton said, “I don't have AIDS. I didn’t infect anybody because I don’t have it. I made the tape because I wanted to raise awareness about AIDS. People are still in the dark.”

News reporter Oralandar Brand-Williams recounts the odd interview:

“I wouldn't say I was intentionally trying to scare people,” said Braxton, who appeared giddy during most of The News' interview.

“Sounds like I should be in Hollywood because I can play a pretty good prank, but at the same time that wasn’t my intention. Should I apologize? OK yeah, I’m sorry to everybody.”

Braxton said she feels bad about making the video that spread panic among Metro Detroiters and others around the country.

She told both the News and the Free Press that she hadn’t intended to create a panic, but had made the video to encourage people to practice safe sex, and admitted that she also hoped it would help to promote a porn site that she runs with her husband. (The url of the website flashes on the screen through the YouTube version of the video.)

“If it scared people, my apologies for scaring them,” Braxton told the Free Press. “I wanted them to know — one night of pleasure could lead to a life full of pain.”

Detroit’s walk-in HIV/AIDS testing clinics reported what the Free Press calls “a noticeable jump” in the number of people showing since Thursday.

Although failure to disclose HIV-positive status to sex partners is a felony in Michigan, police said Braxton hadn’t been charged because they’re not yet sure if she has broken any laws.

Hoax video from Detroit woman: